Eighth+Grade+Monthly

M**onthly** **P**oint **o**f **V**iew. . ..
 * Date: || October 7, 2010 ||
 * Teachers in attendance: || Dissinger, Eisele, Lunn, Westmoreland ||
 * Where are you on your long-range plans, pacing, and content standards? || This week and into next we will be completing our unit on force and motion (8-5) and will evaluate the first nine weeks with our common benchmark exam. We are also continuing to work with our students on the preliminary stages of the science fair project (8-1). ||
 * After the analysis of your most recent assessment, how will you address student strengths and weaknesses? || Tutoring is being provided weekly for students who are getting behind. Some reteaching is necessary, but all teachers feel like our pacing is appropriate. A lot of student misunderstanding comes from students not completing assigned classwork and homework. The lack of practice translates into lower test performance. Only a small percentage of students who probably should rebound are choosing to do so. Not all students who are choosing to rebound are showing up for tutoring. School-wide, it is probably worth the effort to re-advertise about the rebound program and ||
 * How have you used your student’s scores (PASS, MAP, formative/summative assessments, grade distribution sheets) to differentiate instruction? || We will be using our benchmark exam (10/18) to determine areas of weakness across the grade level and specific to each teacher. We will frame our warm-ups around these weaknesses during the second nine weeks to give convenient opportunities for review and reteaching. ||
 * Where did this week’s learning goals fall within Bloom’s Taxonomy? || Students are being asked to analyze situations to apply Newton's Laws of Motion and are asked to apply the appropriate formulas to calculate unknows. Students are interpreting distance-time graphs and are also asked to create graphs. ||
 * In looking at your last formal/informal assessment, identify the level of Bloom's utilized within that assessment. || Students are having to identify, categorize, analyze, and interpret. Some students are struggling with literacy issues with word problems, where if they could figure out what the question was asking they could probably solve it. ||
 * Comments ~ Concerns ~ Needs (resources) || Card stock and clear tape for roller coaster construction. ||


 * Date: November 4, 2010 ||  ||
 * Teachers in attendance: Dissinger, Eisele, Westmoreland ||  ||
 * Where are you on your long-range plans, pacing, and content standards? Waves, light and sound (on track with district pacing) ||  ||
 * After the analysis of your most recent assessment, how will you address student strengths and weaknesses? On our assessments students are given opportunities to display understanding across multiple levels of Bloom's taxonomy. Students are encouraged to make use of available tutoring opportunities, though that time is often becoming time for students to study or complete assignments, rather than for actual reteaching. Students are having a hard time managing their time. Often, students have the hardest time with low-Bloom's level information rather than higher order because they haven't taken the time to memorize necessary vocabulary. For example, they can explain how sound works, but can't use the proper terminology.

We were asked to discuss the value of benchmark tests. We are glad to have the tests. They provide questions to students the teacher may not have written (different perspective; necessitates student thinking), and they show indicators where students are weakest. The test is designed to discover the level of student's mastery. The problem is that when it is treated like an exam (students encouraged to study, a week is devoted to the schedule) we aren't really testing for retention. The benchmark should be given with much less fan fare and teachers should be allowed to give homework/projects during the time when benchmarks are given. ||  ||
 * How have you used your student’s scores (PASS, MAP, formative/summative assessments, grade distribution sheets) to differentiate instruction? Benchmark test scores ||  ||
 * Where did this week’s learning goals fall within Bloom’s Taxonomy? "Students model..." Students design...", "Students distinguish...", "Students describe..." ||  ||
 * In looking at your last formal/informal assessment, identify the level of Bloom's utilized within that assessment. Knowledge, Understanding, Analysis ||  ||
 * Comments ~ Concerns ~ Needs (resources): Teachers are still hoping for a class set of National Geographic Explorer [] ||


 * Date: ||  ||
 * Teachers in attendance: ||  ||
 * Where are you on your long-range plans, pacing, and content standards? ||  ||
 * After the analysis of your most recent assessment, how will you address student strengths and weaknesses? ||  ||
 * How have you used your student’s scores (PASS, MAP, formative/summative assessments, grade distribution sheets) to differentiate instruction? ||  ||
 * Where did this week’s learning goals fall within Bloom’s Taxonomy? ||  ||
 * In looking at your last formal/informal assessment, identify the level of Bloom's utilized within that assessment. ||  ||
 * Comments ~ Concerns ~ Needs (resources) ||


 * Date: ||  ||
 * Teachers in attendance: ||  ||
 * Where are you on your long-range plans, pacing, and content standards? ||  ||
 * After the analysis of your most recent assessment, how will you address student strengths and weaknesses? ||  ||
 * How have you used your student’s scores (PASS, MAP, formative/summative assessments, grade distribution sheets) to differentiate instruction? ||  ||
 * Where did this week’s learning goals fall within Bloom’s Taxonomy? ||  ||
 * In looking at your last formal/informal assessment, identify the level of Bloom's utilized within that assessment. ||  ||
 * Comments ~ Concerns ~ Needs (resources) ||